Chipotle's TikTok campaign shows off new app features

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Brief:

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a demonstrating a new app feature with a campaign on TikTok. The "Complete Customization Chipotle" feature in its app lets users order any menu ingredient as "light, standard or extra," per an announcement.

To promote the feature, Chipotle unveiled a series of "TikTok Hack Menu" videos to show how people can create personalized menu items like "DIY Nachos,""The Extra Dip" and the "Taco Salad Hack." The customization feature is available in Chipotle's app by swiping from left to right on an ingredient while placing an order.

As part of the promotion, Chipotle is offering $1 delivery on any order of $10 or more through the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com until May 31. An additional service fee is applied at checkout, per its promotions web page.

Insight:

Chipotle's latest promotion on TikTok aims to reach customers who have grown more reliant on their smartphones to stay connected with the outside world during the coronavirus pandemic, while showing off an app feature that gives them more flexibility in their mobile orders. With many customers unable to walk into restaurants, where they can request the amount of ingredients they want in their food, the customization feature helps to personalize orders and make the experience more satisfying. Chipotle's TikTok videos showcase those features to its target audience.

Chipotle has made TikTok a central part of its social media marketing efforts in the past year, driving engagement among the app's growing U.S. audience. With many people stuck at home during the pandemic, TikTok has experienced faster growth than more established rivals. The social video app's U.S. user base jumped 56% to 28.8 million from October 2019 to March 2020, according to Comscore data cited by eMarketer. While other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and Twitter have bigger U.S. audiences, TikTok is establishing connections with Generation Z that may last as the group matures into consumers with expanded spending power.

One of Chipotle's most recent promotions on TikTok was a campaign for Cinco de Mayo that included a #ChipotleSponsorMe challenge asking TikTok users to post videos about why the chain should sponsor them in the app.